The present invention relates to a remote control unit for a navigation system and more particularly, the present invention relates to a remote control unit for a navigation system, wherein the remote control unit includes a data storage memory that enables the remote control unit to be used to caddy data between an external computing device and the navigation system and vice versa.
In-vehicle navigation systems are available that provide end-users (such as drivers of vehicles in which the navigation systems are installed) with various navigation-related features. Included among the features provided by some navigation systems are route calculation, route guidance, map display, and electronic yellow pages, as well as other features. Although in-vehicle navigation systems provide many useful and important features, many navigation systems are designed as dedicated systems tailored to interact with other computer systems in limited and defined ways.
Some users of navigation systems have the need to exchange data between external computing devices and their navigation systems. For example, salespersons who use their vehicles to visit actual or potential customers may want to input customer lists from their personal computers into their navigation systems in order to use their navigation systems to calculate routes to visit the customers. By integrating customer list data with a navigation system, it may be possible to minimize travel times, facilitate dining and travel arrangements, avoid rush hour traffic, etc.
Some navigation systems allow data to be input into the navigation system by means of flash memory cards or similar devices. Although flash memory cards work well for this purpose, there exists room for improvements. First of all, in order to use a flash memory card to transfer data into a navigation system from an external computer, the external computer is required to be equipped with a compatible flash memory card connector. This kind of connector is relatively rare. Another potential disadvantage is that flash memory card connectors are relatively fragile and may become dirty over time.
Various other approaches have been proposed that would enable in-vehicle navigation systems to receive data from external computing devices. For example, systems have been proposed that use cellular telephone communications systems to deliver email, traffic report data, etc., to in-vehicle navigation systems. Some of these systems may be able to provide for the simple exchange of data between a computer and an in-vehicle navigation system. However, some of these proposed systems require significant infrastructure development and associated costs and complexity. Also, some of these systems may not be available in all geographic areas.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a relatively simple and inexpensive way to allow an in-vehicle navigation system to receive data from another computing device. Further, there also exists a need for a relatively inexpensive way for an in-vehicle navigation system and another computing device to exchange data quickly, reliably, and securely.